Department for Transport

Motor Vehicles: Technology

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) linear motor technology developed in the UK, and (2) how such technology can be used to decarbonise the transfer and delivery of goods.

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to support the introduction of (1) linear motors, and (2) other new technologies, which can be used to decarbonisethe transfer and delivery of goods.

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for existing road and rail corridors to be utilised for automated goods movement systems; and whether they have included technologies such as linear motors in any such assessment.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Decarbonising transport will require us to embrace new technology and innovation, and multiple solutions will have essential parts to play. Innovate UK is currently part-funding a UK based project to identify the standards and procedures required to design, build, operate and qualify an Underground Freight Transportation system using linear motors, which will report in 2021. Testing new technology and business models at scale is essential and that is why we have already invested £92 million in four Future Transport Zones (FTZs). These will support local leaders and industry to trial new approaches and we have committed £20m towards mass scale demonstration of zero emission freight in the next year. Our further plans for the decarbonisation of freight will form part of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan which is due to be published by Spring 2021.

High Speed Two: Consultants

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much HS2 Ltd spent on consultancy services in each financial year since 2015/16.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: As HS2 do not categorise consultancy spend within their contracts this information is not easily available and could only be compiled at disproportionate cost.

Railways: North of England

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the publication of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North of England has been deferred to 2021; if so, (1) why, and (2) when they now expect it to be published.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Following full consideration of the National Infrastructure Commission's Rail Needs Assessment report, published on 15 December, the Government expects to publish the Integrated Rail Plan early in 2021.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, if any, of the resale value of land and property sales purchased in connection with (1) HS2 Phase 1 and (2) HS2 Phase 2A, in the event that part or all of these projects are cancelled.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: At November 2020, £3.414bn has been spent and committed on the property acquisition programme for Phase One and Phase 2a. No detailed estimates have been produced on the resale value of the property acquired to date on those phases in the event of project cancellation. Subject to wider property disposal rules, the Government’s policy is to sell any land and property not needed for the HS2 programme for its full, unblighted open-market value. The HS2 property disposal policy is kept under review.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they have spent on the purchase of land and property in connection with (1) HS2 Phase 1, and (2) HS2 Phase 2A.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: At November 2020, some £3.642bn has been spent or committed on the three phases of the HS2 property programme. The breakdown is: Phase One - £3.314bn; Phase 2a - £100m; and, Phase 2b - £228m.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Skiing: Training

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether UK ski instructors will have ongoing access to the Common Training Test for Ski Instructors after the transition period for the UK's departure from the EU; and whether they have reached an agreement with the EU Alpine member states that they will continue to recognise the British Association of Snowsport Instructors qualifications as part of the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications.

Lord Callanan: The Common Training Test (CTT) for ski instructors was established by the European Commission Delegated Regulation 2019/907, and only applies to citizens of EU Member States. Now the Transition Period is over, the CTT no longer applies in the UK and UK ski instructors do not have access to the CTT.Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, in common with other professionals, UK snow sports instructors who have had their qualifications recognised before the end of the Transition Period, or who applied for recognition before the end of the Transition Period and subsequently have that recognition granted, and who are resident or frontier workers in the EU Member State that recognised them at the end of the Transition Period, will have that recognition protected and will be able to continue to rely upon it.Following the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, if UK professionals wish to provide services in the EU, the recognition of their professional qualifications across all industries (including snow sports instructors) is subject to the local laws and regulations of individual Member States. Over time, the UK-EU Partnership Council may enter into, and adopt, profession-by-profession mutual recognition agreements.

Intellectual Property: Small Claims

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of theimpact of the £10,000 cap on the value of claims brought to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court Small Claims Track; and what considerationthey have given to raisingthat cap.

Lord Callanan: The IPO commissioned external research into the functioning of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, including the value caps, in 2015. The IPO has also facilitated a series of working groups over the last year looking at the enforcement framework. The cost and accessibility of court processes for IP disputes was considered as part of this review, and questions on these topics were included in the call for views which closed in November this year. The IPO is currently considering the responses received from that exercise and will carry out further assessment as necessary before any recommendations are taken forwards.

Housing: Energy and Heating

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a directly funded scheme for installing energy efficiency measures and efficient heating for(1) home owners, and (2) private renters, who are fuel poor.

Lord Callanan: There are several government-funded schemes available to help support the installation of energy efficiency measures for fuel poor households. The low-income element of the £1.5bn Green Homes Grant vouchers scheme is open to homeowners in receipt of certain benefits. Installation of measures under the scheme will be covered up to a maximum of £10,000. This extra support for low-income households, is likely to help those who are unable to keep their homes warm at a reasonable cost, and who are unable to cover the cost of energy efficiency upgrades to their home. The Green Home Grant Local Authority Delivery (LAD) Scheme provides an additional £500 million focused on owner occupiers, those in the private and social rented sector, with a household income of under £30,000. The primary purpose of LAD is to raise the energy efficiency rating of low income and low EPC rated homes (rated D, E, F or G), including those living in the worst quality off-gas grid homes. In addition, the current Energy Company Obligation continues until March 2022. It requires large energy suppliers to deliver energy efficiency measures to fuel poor domestic households. Homeowners on low incomes are eligible under the scheme and low-income private renters living in the least energy efficient homes can also be eligible for solid wall insulation and renewable heating.

Freight: Planning Permission

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how they can support local authorities to work together in granting permissions across multiplecouncil areas for automated goods movement systems.

Lord Callanan: The Government’s Code of Practice for automated vehicle trialling allows trials with a safety driver to take place anywhere in the UK if carried out in line with UK law. The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles works closely with local authorities and regional transport authorities across the UK that are looking to safely trial automated vehicle technologies.

Delivery Services: Automation

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the opportunities for urban fulfilment centres to connect warehousing and factories to urban customers using automated delivery systems.

Lord Callanan: The Government recognises the potential benefits of automation for the movement of people and goods. Since 2015, the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles has enabled joint government and industry investment of £440m into UK connected and automated mobility technology.The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles has engaged with the connected and automated mobility, logistics and manufacturing sectors to understand potential use cases of automation in delivery systems.

Delivery Services: Automation

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to enable below surface automated delivery systems to be built in UK cities.

Lord Callanan: The Government is monitoring industry work in this area. In 2019, the Department for Transport published the Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy, which established principles for facilitating innovation in urban mobility for freight, passengers and services. The Strategy ?sets out the Government’s support for innovation that encourages more efficient movement of goods, reducing congestion and improving environmental outcomes.

Department for Education

Free School Meals

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children were eligible for free school meals in (1) October 2018, and (2) October 2020; and what financial support they are providing to help pay for these meals.

Baroness Berridge: In October 2018, 1,205,000 pupils in England were eligible and claiming free school meals, which is 14.7% of all pupils in state-funded schools. The department plans to publish the information relating to October 2020 in due course.Where pupils become newly entitled to free school meals, local authorities and schools are able to quickly verify their eligibility using the department’s electronic Eligibility Checking System to ensure that this vital support is available immediately.We have introduced a number of immediate measures, including the launch of the National Voucher Scheme, to ensure that children who usually receive benefits-related free school meals still had access to this support during the period that schools were previously restricted from opening to the majority of pupils. Schools received, and continue to receive, their funding for free school meals as normal.Building on the significant support given to the most vulnerable during the COVID-19 outbreak, a new £170 million Covid Winter Grant Scheme has been launched by the Department for Work and Pensions, and will be run by councils in England. A link to the scheme is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme.

Erasmus+ Programme

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their requirements for the continuation of the UK's participation in the Erasmus+ programme beyond the 2021/22 academic year; whether they have any plans for a UK-only scheme if an agreement for such participation is not reached; and if so, whatare the (1) principles, and (2) requirements, of any such scheme.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: As part of our negotiations with the EU about our future relationship, the government considered the EU programmes with which the UK was involved and decided whether or not we should continue to seek participation in these programmes.Our public mandate set out that we would consider options for participation in elements of Erasmus+ on a time-limited basis, provided that the terms were in the UK’s interests. Unfortunately, the only terms on offer would have meant that the UK would have been likely to pay in around £2 billion more than we would get out over the term of the next programme. The government decided that that would not have provided value for money and be in the interests of the UK taxpayer.Instead, as an independent and sovereign country, we will proceed with the introduction of a new international educational exchange scheme which has a genuinely global reach and which increases social mobility.The newly announced Turing scheme, which replaces the UK’s participation in Erasmus+, will allow thousands of students to study and take part in work placements in the EU and beyond. The scheme will be backed by over £100 million, providing funding for around 35,000 students in universities, colleges, and schools to go on placements and exchanges overseas, starting in September 2021.The new scheme will also target students from disadvantaged backgrounds and areas which did not previously have many students benefiting from Erasmus+, making life-changing opportunities accessible to everyone across the country.The programme will provide similar opportunities for students to study and work abroad as the Erasmus+ programme, but it will include countries across the world, and it aims to deliver greater value for money to taxpayers.The government will set out further details in the coming weeks.

Treasury

Brexit: Costs

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what amount they have budgeted to cover the total cost of the UK’s departure from the EU, including the end of the transition period.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost to the UK of the negotiations leading up to the UK’s departure from the EU, including the negotiations for any future free trade agreement with the EU.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: HM Treasury has made available £9.7 billion of additional funding to support EU Exit and the Transition in any outcome between financial years 2016-17 and 2020-21. As part of this funding, HM Treasury has made available £3.6 billion of additional funding in 2020-21. This includes £2 billion of allocations made at Spending Round 2019 as well as more recent allocations, such as the additional £705 million of border funding announced in July 2020 to support HMRC and other departments’ delivery of new border arrangements. All funding for 2020-21 will be confirmed at Supplementary Estimates 2020, to be published in the new year. Spending Review 2020 also allocates over £2 billion for 2021-22 to support departments following the end of the Transition. This includes £1 billion for HMRC to reform and enhance the UK customs system and £363 million for the Home Office to maintain law enforcement cooperation with EU member states and recruit Border Force officers to deliver transit customs arrangements.

Stamp Duty Land Tax: Coronavirus

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reconsider the scheduled end of the Stamp Duty holiday on 31 March 2021.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The temporary SDLT relief was designed to create immediate momentum in a property market where property transactions fell by as much as 50 per cent during the COVID-19 lockdown in March. This measure will also support the jobs of people whose employment relies on custom from the property industry, such as retailers and tradespeople. The Government will continue to monitor the market. However, as the relief was designed to provide an immediate stimulus to the property market, the Government does not plan to extend this relief.

Employment

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 11 December (HL10795), what was the total number of paid employees residing in (1) each of region in England, and (2) each country of the UK, from April 2019 to March 2020 recorded in HMRC Pay As You Earn Real Time Information data.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The table below sets out the number of paid employees residing in each of region in England from April 2019 to March 2020, as recorded in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) data. MonthNorth EastNorth WestYorkshire and the HumberEast MidlandsWest MidlandsEastApril 20191,065,4093,137,8162,300,5512,120,4472,485,3132,772,974May 20191,066,0803,137,6202,300,3332,120,4392,485,0752,771,953June 20191,066,5623,138,9062,302,0002,121,0302,484,8752,772,962July 20191,065,6603,139,1862,301,2352,119,5972,481,6642,772,737August 20191,069,0743,144,5922,306,0522,122,1112,486,0402,776,981September 20191,071,2023,146,6342,309,5012,124,0472,487,7742,779,943October 20191,071,7283,147,8352,308,3002,123,7632,488,4412,780,209November 20191,072,3993,150,2222,309,8152,124,8242,487,4142,781,880December 20191,072,7893,150,3422,310,2462,124,3542,486,6092,783,622January 20201,074,1923,152,7812,312,7152,126,6762,488,1942,785,231February 20201,075,6423,153,0772,312,7652,127,7552,488,8192,785,062March 20201,076,0533,152,6612,313,6872,124,9242,488,5512,783,615 MonthLondonSouth EastSouth WestApril 20194,116,8634,076,3442,408,685May 20194,112,3874,077,8302,412,936June 20194,117,5304,079,8862,414,122July 20194,117,8594,079,8682,411,973August 20194,125,4244,084,7372,417,680September 20194,131,4874,090,1662,420,027October 20194,132,4124,088,0622,419,985November 20194,133,0334,090,5282,420,215December 20194,139,3004,092,0042,421,205January 20204,142,4904,094,4032,425,980February 20204,139,1344,094,1582,422,459March 20204,132,4504,088,6752,420,358 The table below sets out the number of paid employees residing in each country of the UK, from April 2019 to March 2020, as recorded in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) data. MonthEnglandWalesScotlandNorthern IrelandApril 201924,484,4021,255,9332,391,779741,714May 201924,484,6531,256,9032,392,995742,256June 201924,497,8731,257,7482,392,860743,088July 201924,489,7791,257,5852,391,974745,959August 201924,532,6911,260,0272,393,484746,570September 201924,560,7811,260,3922,395,389747,484October 201924,560,7351,259,6222,395,250748,139November 201924,570,3301,260,9862,394,490750,560December 201924,580,4711,261,5812,397,707751,309January 202024,602,6621,264,2152,401,985752,946February 202024,598,8711,264,7872,396,300754,489March 202024,580,9741,262,4542,395,550755,739  Please note: (1) These figures have been taken from the publication “Earnings and employment from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information” published jointly by HMRC and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 15 December 2020[1]. (2) These figures are as accurate as reported through PAYE RTI. However, PAYE schemes not paying any of their employees above the NICs threshold are not obliged to report employees' earnings through RTI. Therefore, some employees may be excluded from these statistics. (3) The address information has been taken from individuals’ addresses as at March 2020. [1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/realtimeinformationstatisticsreferencetableseasonallyadjusted

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Overseas Aid: Charities

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the (1) funding, and (2) operational sustainability, of small charities working in the field of international development.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The FCDO recognises that this is an uncertain time for the charity sector and we continue to work flexibly with civil society partners to respond to the pandemic, maintain delivery of essential programmes and manage the impacts on organisations and staff. We have kept informed of the level of risk to the sector by the BOND survey of its members. Many charities have benefited from the existing measures announced by the Government to support employers and businesses and all charities have also been eligible for the job retention scheme.

Overseas Aid: Charities

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representationsthey have received from the Small International Development Charities Network on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continuing viability of such charities; and what plans they have to meet with representatives of the Network.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The FCDO has received a number of MP's letters requesting a response to their constituents who have expressed support for the Small but Mighty campaign championed by the Small International Development Charities Network. The FCDO currently has no specific plans to meet representatives of the Network. However, as an organisation, we attach immense value to engaging with civil society organisations which, like the FCDO, are at the forefront of delivering aid. We will continue to engage directly with organisations that share our objectives in international development and contribute to delivering UK Aid to poor and excluded communities around the world.

Department for Work and Pensions

Food Poverty: Children

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision of UNICEF to commence feeding children in theUK.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: No assessment has been made. Throughout this pandemic, this Government has delivered an unprecedented package of support to protect jobs and businesses and, for those in most need, injected billions into the welfare system. The new COVID Winter Grant Scheme builds on that support with an additional £170 million for local authorities in England, to support families with children and other vulnerable people with the cost of food and essential utilities this winter. Funding has been disbursed according to an authority’s population, weighted by a function of the English index of multiple deprivation. Devolved Administrations have received equivalent funding through the upfront funding guarantee we have provided, which was recently increased to £16 billion for the year to support their COVID-19 response.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions 2020 inquiry, published on 16 December, and (2) the finding of the report that the governments of Australia and Canada wnt to cooperate with them to end their policy of freezing state pension payments to British pensioners residing in those countries.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding of the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions 2020 inquiry, published on 16 December, that half of pensioners residing abroad whose state pension payments are frozen receive a UK state pension of £65 per week or less.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding of the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions 2020 inquiry, published on 16 December, that a majority of pensioners emigrating to countries where a freeze on state pension payments applies were not informed that their pension would be frozen before they left the UK.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to end the freeze on state pension payments to UK pensioners residing in countries where this policy applies.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Government has not made an assessment of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions 2020 inquiry or its findings. The UK State Pension is payable worldwide to those who meet the qualifying conditions. It is up-rated where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example, where recipients are living in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. The Government has no plans to change the policy on up-rating UK State Pensions overseas; the policy is longstanding and has been supported by successive Governments for over 70 years. The Government understands that people move abroad for many reasons and that this can have an impact on their finances. However, the decision to move abroad remains a personal choice. Advice that the UK State Pension is not up-rated overseas except where there is a legal requirement has been provided to the public for many years. Information is provided in leaflets and on gov.uk.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Coronavirus: Waste

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence they havefor the prevalenceof COVID-19 in waste matter globally.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: International evidence on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in human faeces, urine and wastewater has been examined by the Transmission of Covid-19 in the Wider Environment Group (TWEG), an expert group commissioned by Defra. This group published its initial findings in a report to SAGE on 12 June, on www.gov.uk, - TWEG: Evidence of wider environmental transmission of SARS-CoV-2 - and is continuing to examine new evidence as it emerges. While the virus is present in human waste, evidence shows that it is rapidly inactivated so transmission risk from exposure to contaminated wastewater is assessed to be very low.

Tree Planting

The Lord Bishop of Salisbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the response byLord Callanan on 14 December (HL Deb, col 1410), whatspecific steps they are taking to meet their tree planting target for (1) 2020, (2) 2021, and (3) any future years.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: We committed in our manifesto to increasing planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by 2025 and are exploring whether longer-term statutory targets for trees in England would be appropriate. To achieve this, we announced a £640 million Nature for Climate Fund to increase planting in England over this parliament and will publish a new England Tree Strategy in spring. This year we kick-started efforts through:£12.1 million investment in expanding England's ten Community Forests;£2.5 million from the Shared Outcomes Fund for research pilots to grow trees outside of woodlands;£1.4 million of planting along rivers through the Environment Agency;Over 84,000 trees planted in towns and cities by the second round of the £10 million Urban Tree Challenge Fund;Support from the £40 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund for a range of charity projects to protect and plant trees.

Cats and Dogs: Meat

Baroness Fookes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to ban the consumption of meat derived from (1) a cat, or (2) a dog, in the UK.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The Government shares the public's high regard for animal welfare, including the welfare of dogs and cats, and we are committed to making the UK a world leader in the protection of animals now we have left the EU. The Government is appalled by the prospect of dogs and cats being consumed. However, it is already illegal to sell dog and cat meat for human consumption and the Government has seen no evidence that dog and cat meat is being sold or consumed in this country. We are confident that our current position sends a clear message that the slaughter and consumption of dogs and cats will never be acceptable. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office raises concerns about the welfare of animals with other governments at every suitable opportunity, and we are pleased to hear that authorities in China are proposing to ban the consumption of dog and cat meat.

Horse Racing

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have completed negotiations on the continuation of the Tripartite Agreement to permit the free movement of racehorses between Ireland, the United Kingdom and France following the end of the transition period for the UK's departure from the EU.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The European Commission has made clear that, as a third country, Great Britain will no longer have access to the Tripartite Agreement from 1 January 2021. Northern Ireland will remain part of it under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The Government is therefore continuing to work closely with industry to facilitate the continued movement of equines following the Transition Period, recognising the value of the equine sector to the entire UK economy.?This will include allowing horses from the European Union that pose a low disease risk, including from France and Ireland, to continue to enter Great Britain with only necessary animal health controls.

Japanese Knotweed: Weed Control

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progressthey have made on the eradication of Japanese Knotweed; and what programmes of action they are proposing for 2021.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Our research into an effective method of controlling Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) continues. The Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) has successfully collected better climatically matched populations of the psyllid, Aphalara itadori, from Japan, and is currently evaluating it as a biological control agent for Japanese knotweed in the UK.In 2021 we will continue to work closely with the CABI on researching and developing biological control methods for this species. Until such a method is found, long term management, using physical and chemical methods, and good biosecurity, to prevent spread, will remain essential.

Home Office

Offences against Children

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their reportGroup based child sexual exploitation characteristics of offending, published on 15 December, whether they plan to require the police to record the (1) ethnicity, and (2) religion, of offenders; and if not, why not.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 4 February (HL711) and on 1 October (HL8244), and their report Group based child sexual exploitation characteristics of offending, published on 15 December, whetherthe majority of members of the External Reference Group wanted to include a reference to any role of religion in group based child sexual exploitation.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Child sexual abuse is a despicable crime and the Government is committed to keeping children and young people safe from all forms of abuse.The paper, ‘Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation Characteristics of Offending’ sets out the limited available evidence on the characteristics of offenders involved in group-based child sexual exploitation. An External Reference Group (ERG) of experts was established to advise in the development of the paper.Members of the ERG provided advice in their capacity as individual experts and votes were not cast to establish whether views were held by a majority of members. While some members of the ERG wanted the paper to provide more detail on the characteristics of offending within certain communities, there was not substantial discussion of religion specifically.The paper recognises that understanding cultural drivers is one of the key aspects in preventing and tackling offending. In publishing the paper, the Home Secretary expressed disappointment in the lack of robust data on these characteristics. We will set out action to address this in the Government’s forthcoming Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy. Any new data collection requirements of police forces will be made in consultation with the police which are rightly independent of Government.The Police Act 1996 sets out that forces must submit data to the Home Office when requested to do so. All proposals for new data collections are consulted on with policy and operational colleagues, other government departments, National Policing Leads and other key police stakeholders to ensure that such requests are proportionate and eliminate unnecessary burdens. This ensures a proper balance between the accountability and efficiency of police operation and is reviewed on an annual basis.

Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have appointed an independent reviewerto carry out a review of theIndependent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration; and if not, when such an appointment will be made.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: As outlined in the Comprehensive Improvement Plan, we are progressing with the appointment of an independent reviewer to lead a full review of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. We will announce further details early next year.

Dover Port: Customs

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure sufficient funding to enable adequate passport checking facilities at the Port of Dover following the end of the transition period for the UK's departure from the EU.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Passport checks conducted by Border Force at Dover are limited to those conducted on outbound passengers, as UK immigration controls are located at the juxtaposed controls in France for inbound journeys.All passengers travelling inbound to the Port of Dover are already required to show a passport (plus any relevant UK immigration document or permission) or an EEA National Identity card to pass through the juxtaposed controls.The operation of the juxtaposed controls is based on bilateral agreements with France, rather than us being part of the EU, so will continue after the transition period has ended.Passport checks are already conducted on 100% of outbound passengers by the carrier on behalf of Border Force under exit check provisions.

Cabinet Office

Port Infrastructure Fund: Dover Port

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they granted funding from the Port Infrastructure Fund for infrastructure at the entrance to the Port of Dover; if not, (1) why not, and (2) what other funding they consider will be available for this purpose.

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the criteria for funding bids to the Port Infrastructure Fund from (1) ports, and (2) airports.

Lord True: All allocations from the Port Infrastructure Fund (PIF) have been published by HMG online at gov.uk. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/port-infrastructure-fund-allocations/port-infrastructure-fund-successful-applicants).The criteria for awarding grants were set out in the PIF Prospectus.

UK Trade with EU

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to lay any UK–EU free trade agreement before the House; and what assessment they have made of what further legislation may be needed to implement the final agreement.

Lord True: A copy of the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA) (together, the ‘Agreements’) have been placed in the House of Lords Library. The European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020 made changes to domestic law needed to implement our international obligations. There will also be a small programme of secondary legislation needed to fulfill all our obligations under the Agreements.

UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in discussions with the government of Ireland on ensuring the unfettered movement of goods which travel from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK viathe Republic of Ireland.

Lord True: Our priority throughout 2020 was to give effect to unfettered access in UK law. This has now been done: the definition of “qualifying Northern Ireland goods” to apply from 1 January, as part of our phased approach has been set out; and we have included protections via the UK Internal Market Act 2020 to prohibit new checks and controls, and ensure Northern Ireland goods can continue to access the whole UK market.During the first phase, we have implemented measures to ensure there are no tariffs due on qualifying goods moving via the Republic of Ireland. Otherwise those movements will be subject to the requirements of our overall phased controls model. This process will be further simplified during the course of 2021 as we bring forward the second, longer-term phase of our unfettered access model. That second phase will identify “qualifying” goods moved by businesses established in Northern Ireland and will be given effect in a light-touch using existing port and airport check-in processes. This will apply whether goods are moved directly from NI to GB, or indirectly via the Republic of Ireland.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: Africa

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessments they have made of the impact of bilateral agreements with African countries falling outside the UN category of Least Developed Countries.

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the African Union about the UK's pursuit of bilateral agreements with African countries falling outside the UN's category of Least Developed Countries.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: UK Ministers and officials regularly engage with the African Union on a range of trade related issues, including our support for the African Continental Free Trade Area. Furthermore, our Parliamentary Reports published alongside signed continuity agreements contain detailed information about the volume of trade, composition of imports and exports, and wider economic impact of agreements. These reports are intended to aid businesses, consumers and parliamentarians in understanding any significant differences made to our trade relationship with partner countries and the reasons for any changes, and their impact. We will continue to voluntarily lay these Parliamentary Reports, with Explanatory Memoranda, alongside agreements.

Overseas Trade: Genocide

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to undertake trade with a state if a court has predetermined that a genocide is underway; and what assessment they have made ofthe impact on the UK’s ability to undertake international trade of amendments to the Trade Bill relating to trade agreements with states accused of committing genocide.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: The United Kingdom have long promoted our values globally. We are clear that more trade does not have to come at the expense of our values.Our experience is that political freedom and the rule of law are vital underpinnings for both prosperity and stability and that, by having strong economic relationships with partners, we are able to have open discussions on a range of issues. Despite our varying approach to agreements with partners, we will always have open discussions on a range of issues, including rights and responsibilities.Clause 2 of the Trade Bill allows HM Government to implement those trade agreements the EU including the United Kingdom had with third countries, prior to the United Kingdom leaving the EU. The list of countries in scope can be found at: gov.uk/guidance/uk-trade-agreements-with-non-eu-countriesThe Trade Bill has no provisions to implement a free trade agreement with those countries, such as China, who did not have a free trade agreement with the EU prior to 31st January 2020.